When a carcass is split longitudinally down the spine, care must be taken to ensure that the saw does not move laterally. If the saw drifts laterally away from the spine and into the meat of the carcass, the quality of meat may be severally impacted. The carcass may even become unusable for meat. Accordingly, the carcass must be held in a centered alignment when it is split.
A number of different prior art devices exist for stabilizing and/or aligning a carcass. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 6,050,889 to Jacobs et al. discloses an apparatus for dividing a carcass along the spinal column. The carcass is held and aligned by means of guiding rollers that engage the back inside of the carcass, and support means that engage the back of the carcass. The support means comprise two plate shaped members that engage the carcass on either side of the spine. When the carcass is divided, the saw blade, guided by rollers, passes through the spine and between the two plate-shaped support members.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,368 to Menqi discloses a guiding device that cooperates with the inner face of the backbone of an animal carcass. The device is used in conjunction with a roller that cooperates with the outer face of the backbone of the carcass. The device is characterized by two guiding surfaces and connected to a rocking lever. The rocking lever is pivoted on a support member. The two guiding surfaces and are recessed in the shape of a V. The two guiding surfaces have curved ends designed to engage portions of the backbone.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,533,131 to Ivarsson discloses a machine for splitting animal carcasses along the backbone. The splitting saw is mounted on a guiding mechanism that alternates between a working and a resting position. The carcass is guided by a fixed U-shaped guide member comprising two bars situated on opposite sides of the backbone of the carcass.
The devices described above that are used to stabilize a carcass do not have a desirable shape and are not useable as an attachment to a bandsaw-type backsaw. In particular, the plate shaped support members of Jacobs are too large to be mounted on a bandsaw. The guide surfaces of Menqi are shaped to directly engage the spine. In order for a support device to be usable with a bandsaw, the device needs to engage portions of the carcass lateral to the spine in order to allow the bandsaw to pass through the spine. The bars disclosed Ivarsson are not easily mounted on a bandsaw and do not provide a reliable engagement surface for the carcass.
Backsaw attachments exist that engage the carcass, however, they do not serve to stabilize the carcass. One such attachment will be discussed in connection with the operation of a bandsaw-type carcass backsaw. With reference to FIG. 1a, a backsaw 100 including a blade guide guard 104 is shown in use. The backsaw 100 includes a bandsaw blade 108 and a removable blade guide 112. An enlarged view of the backsaw 100 along with the blade guide guard 104 is shown in FIG. 1b. Backsaws of this type are available from a variety of manufactures including Jarvis, Inc. Saws of the this type are sold by Jarvis under the name Buster Saw.
An enlarged perspective view of the blade guide guard 104 is shown in FIG. 2a. A blade guide guard with a similar construction is available from Jarvis under the part number #1024063. The blade guide guard 104 includes sides walls 200 that are interconnected by means of a lateral rod 204. As shown in FIG. 2b, the blade guide guard 104 fits over the blade guide 112 (shown removed from the backsaw 100). In this position the two parts are welded or bolted together. In use, the sloped edge 208 of the blade guide may press against the carcass 116. This protects the blade 108 by preventing it from being driven into the blade guide 112.
The prior art blade guide guard 104 serves only to protect the blade 108 and does not function to guide the backsaw 100. In particular, when the backsaw 100 including the guide 104 is used to split a carcass 116, the backsaw is unguided and tends to drift laterally leading to an uneven cut. More particularly, the sloped edge 208 is not designed to keep the carcass 116 in position. For this reason, the carcass 116 may drift off center and out of alignment with the blade 108 when the backsaw 100 is in operation. Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a backsaw attachment that, when pressed against a carcass, holds the carcass in position and thus guides the backsaw 100.